Construction begins on new Bay Street co-ops

This artist rendering shows the future Stapleton Court, a mixed-income co-op project that would bring 162 new units to the neighborhood.

While Stapleton has long been considered ripe for a renaissance, hard economic times mean that construction projects there will likely be slow and sporadic.

The big, blue plywood wall at Prospect and Bay streets is a sign of a bit of change in a neighborhood that may stand frozen in flux for some time.

Builders are laying the foundation there for Stapleton Court, a mixed-income co-op project that would bring 162 new units to a block that currently features a bank branch and an under-used municipal parking lot.

In this, the first phase of construction, builders will erect 92 units on the former municipal lot, with 78 of them slated for middle-class earners-- individuals making up to $64,000 a year and couples and families earning up to $136,000.The purchase price would range between $190,000 and $390,000, Councilman Michael McMahon (D-North Shore) told the Advance when the project met with City Council approval in March.

Another eight units will be sold at market rate, and five co-ops are to be marketed through Habitat for Humanity as low-income housing, he added. The plan also includes 156 residential parking spaces and 52 metered spots to be managed by the developer.

But like other projects throughout the city, construction may not progress at full steam until the financing is more secure.

The second phase of the plan entails the ongoing acquisition of the adjacent Citibank branch building by the developers, BFC Partners. The bank would relocate into one of the ground-floor storefronts of the new development.

McMahon said Tuesday that he hopes the building will become a catalyst for "other smart development along the Stapleton-St. George corridor."

"I hope it will be completed using union labor, and that it brings economic activity to the neighborhood," he said.